Wednesday October 17, 2012 year: 132 No. 116
the student voice of
The Ohio State University
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thelantern Task force pledges ‘signage,’ ‘education’
sports
pam harasyn Lantern reporter harasyn.1@osu.edu
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Defense dominates airways
In the Big Ten’s weekly teleconference, the talk focused on OSU’s struggling defense.
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The Traffic Safety Task Force, formed in the wake of several accidents on campus, has recommended that the university add more signs near crosswalks and begin citing bikers on the Oval in an effort to increase on-campus safety. A safety message from Jay Kasey, senior vice president of Administration and Planning, and Javaune AdamsGaston, vice president of Student Life, was emailed to Ohio State students, faculty and staff Tuesday informing them of the safety task force’s recommendations. The email outlined short-term goals of adopting “a clear and strong set of rules of the road for all modes of transportation” with the hopes of reducing accidents on campus. Some of the short-term goals are set to be implemented within the next two months. Adams-Gaston said it will take the university that much time “to make sure that we are creating the right educational materials, make sure we’re getting the signage down in
Lauren clark / Asst. multimedia editor
Columbus Division of Police cars on scene after a Tuesday traffic accident between a cyclist and vehicle on High Street near 15th Avenue. the crosswalks, make sure that we begin to have the conversations in the resident halls and the off-campus area.” But the recommendations were already more than two weeks late. Adams-Gaston said although the
date set for the suggestion was Oct. 1, there was a three-week window, so the task force was really only about a week past deadline. “As with any task force you’re working with a group of 35 people, you want to ensure you have the most
significant information,” she said. “Then we pass it forward to the president and then we put it out for public presentation.” Kasey said the university will be making sign changes to “very hazardous crosswalks on High Street” that will be visible to both pedestrians and drivers. Bicyclists will be required to dismount and walk their bikes across the Oval, according to the email, which will be the first area where certain modes of transportation will be restricted. “There will not be an enforcement officer on the Oval all the time. There will be periodic checks, there will be reminders, there will be education, and then finally we could cite people who ride their bikes across the Oval,” Kasey said. Adams-Gaston said citations will be issued to students not following the new regulations. She said there will be some “opportunity for citation without a fee” but then they plan to enforce citations later that will come with a fee. Kasey said the task force has met
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‘Get lost’ while traveling
Travel Channel star Samantha Brown spoke at the Ohio
Union Monday.
campus
Familiar face hands out papers
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2nd debate features economy, immigration michael burwell Lantern reporter burwell.37@osu.edu The economy, middle class and immigration were a few of the topics discussed during the second presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney Tuesday night. The debate, held at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., was in the format of a town hall meeting with questions asked by U.S. citizens who are undecided on who they will vote for on Nov. 6. Obama and Romney discussed the importance of creating jobs in the U.S. -- particularly manufacturing jobs and jobs for recent college graduates. They also talked about the importance of solar, coal and wind energy in the U.S. “The most important thing we can do is make sure we control our own energy,” Obama said. Romney and Obama agreed it was important that the U.S. is energy independent. “Let’s take advantage of the energy resources we have,” Romney said. “If we do that, if we do what
I’m planning on doing, which is getting us energy independent, North America energy independence within eight years, you’re going to see manufacturing jobs come back.” Other topics discussed by both candidates during the debate, which lasted about two hours, included immigration, assault weapons and the female workplace. Both candidates agreed the U.S. is “a nation of immigrants.” Obama said people all over the world need to feel that the U.S. is still the “land of promise.” Romney said that while Americans need to welcome legal immigrants into this country, illegal immigration needs to stop. The moderator for the debate was Candy Crowley, CNN chief political correspondent. She said the town hall participants consisted of 82 uncommitted voters from the New York area. The members of the audience were selected by the Gallup organization, according to the 2012 Election Central website. Paul Filippelli, executive director of the OSU College Democrats, said he thought Obama had the best performance of any debate in his career. “And that includes four years ago,” he said. “In
the last debate, he let Mitt Romney get away with a lot. He would just let Mitt Romney say all sorts of false things and he didn’t fight back. And this time he fought back and he fought back hard.” Niraj Antani, communications director for the OSU College Republicans called the debate “quite interesting.” Following the debate, he said Obama did better than he did during the first debate but thought Romney still trumped the president. “Gov. Romney won,” Antani said. “He articulated his views while the president blamed Romney.” The format worked to Romney’s advantage, Antani said, and thinks it showed he “can connect with the American people.” Analysts gave mixed reviews on the debate, but many claimed Obama to be the winner Tuesday evening. The third and final presidential debate will take place Monday at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. Results of a Tuesday seven-day rolling Gallup poll have Obama and Romney tied at 47 percent among registered voters with less than a month until the Nov. 6 presidential election. Ally Marotti and Kristen Mitchell contributed to this article.
Answers sparse on Newark bomb threat
weather
ayan sheikh Senior Lantern reporter sheikh.51@osu.edu
high 76 low 58 partly cloudy
TH 61/49 F 55/45 SA 58/42 SU 65/50
andrew holleran / Photo editor
Republican presidential nomiee Mitt Romney speaks to a crowd in Powell, Ohio, on Aug. 25 (left). President Barack Obama speaks to a crowd on OSU’s Oval on Oct. 9. It was his fifth visit to OSU in two years (right).
showers cloudy partly cloudy mostly sunny www.weather.com
Officials have yet to release details on last week’s Ohio State Newark campus bomb threat. The campus was closed for most of the day Oct. 9, but officials have said the case is still under investigation. Denny Hollern, public safety director at OSU-Newark told The Lantern last Thursday he cannot reveal how officials were notified, and that police found no evidence of suspicious packages or devices on campus. “All the academic buildings on our campus along with a couple support buildings were checked,” Hollern said. “Student Life pretty much took care of their own with the dormitory. So everything was checked.” Bomb-sniffing dogs from the Columbus Division Police, OSU Police and the Muskingum County Sheriff’s office were all on the scene Oct. 9.
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OSU-Newark bomb threat witness timeline 9:22 a.m.
OSU emergency management sends out a tweet announcing OSU’s Newark campus will be closed until further notice.
10:21 a.m.
Mahad Abid, a first-year in biology, receives a Buckeye alert email informing him of a bomb threat on OSU’s Newark campus.
“A few minutes later”
Abid’s geography professor recieves a phone call asking him and his students to evacuate the building.
10:30 a.m.
Occupants of Warner Library are informed about the bomb threat and told to evacuate campus.
5:30 p.m.
OSU’s Newark campus resumes normal operations. source: reporting
CHRISTOPHER BRAUN / Design editor
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